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Female gods and roles in greek mythology
Female gods and roles in greek mythology
The description of the shield of achilles in illiad
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The Shield of Achilles in the Iliad
The shield of Achilles plays a major part in the Iliad. It portrays the
story of the Achaeans and their fight against the Trojans in a microcosm of the
larger story. Forged by the god, Hephaestus, who was a crippled smith, it
depicts the two cities and the happenings within, as well as Agamemnon's kingly
estate. To gain insight into the details and intricacies of the shield, one must
look at the shield itself, the cities depicted within the shield, and the King's
Estate and other scenes which are also depicted. These items will give even an
amateur reader a fair understanding of the importance of Achilles' shield and
the Iliad.
Hephaestus, the god of fire, is the smith whom forged Achilles' shield.
He begins with twenty hot bellows and fires bronze, tin, gold, and silver in his
kiln. He then proceeds to hammer the metals upon his anvil to create a massive
shield for Achilles to wield. The shield itself is made of five layers of metal
with a triple ply shield strap edging on the rim. On the shield are scenes
showing the heavens and earth and sea, two noble cities, a king's estate, fallow
fields, a thriving vineyard, a herd of longhorn cattle, and a dancing circle.
Once Hephaestus completes the shield he makes a breastplate and helmet for
Achilles. The armor he forges is indestructible and worthy of a god. Through
Homer's description of the shield and how it is forged, the reader can begin to
understand the importance and value of this device in a literary context.
The two cities depicted on the shield represent a city in Greece and
Troy. One of the cities is filled with men dancing and singing and brides
marching through the streets, while the other is circled by an army. This army
has two plans which split their ranks: to share the riches which they have
captured or plunder the city and capture more. Turmoil surrounds each city. In
one a quarrel breaks out and is brought to judgement. Surrounding the other, two
armies fight along the river banks killing men and dragging off the dead. Both
cities are tainted with death, and both house love.
robe, which covers him all the way down to his feet, and a cape with a large,
shoulder coverage, as well as side torso protection. Inside each front panel is a large
Greeks are known for many things. We know them for their poetry, for their philosophy, their politics--and also we have come to know them for their childish, petty, lustful, little gods. These gods, vengeful in the extreme, have been a source of much literature. However, not all the gods have the same publicity agent, and have suffered in obscurity for much too long. One of these gods, one of the Twelve Olympians, has been obscure in the least. He is different in most ways from the other gods, and I am here to illuminate him further to you. His name? Hephaistos.
hide scraper which had a steel tip on the top of it and had a wooden handle.
Schein, Seth L. The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors, is portrayed as a hero in some ways but, on the other hand, performs some controversial acts in the Iliad. Throughout the entire Trojan war, Achilles spent most of his time pouting in his tent after Agamemnon kidnapped his prized maiden, Chryseis.
In 1940, McDonalds was not the multi-million dollar industry that people recognize today. In fact, it started out as a small drive-in style BBQ restaurant, owned by Dick and Mac McDonald, in San Bernadino, California. However in 1948, the entire workings of the restaurant were altered, making it the dawn of the McDonald’s empire. This new drive-in, like other drive-in restaurants of its time, struggled to make a large amount of profit, due to selling low-priced food using traditional methods, which were often labor intensive and expensive. But the McDonald brothers fixed this problem by reducing their menu 25 items to nine items: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips, and a slice of pie. Their staple item, the 30 cent hamburger, accounted for 80 percent of their total sales. Later, the brothers altered the production to that of the Fordist assembly line in order to make the whole operation fast and efficient, halving the price of their items, including their prized hamburger. (http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mcdonalds_history_timeline.html?DCSext.destination=http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mcd_history.html).
Roman military equipment were similar to those used in the Republic, using the pilum, which was a heavy spear thrown in hand-to-hand combat. It was thrown in order to kill the enemy but if stuck in the enemies shield, it would become a significant nuisance. There was a gladius hispaniensis which was a Spanish sword worn on the right hip designed for stabbing and thrusting. This sword had very sharp edges and Livy describes the terror of the Macedonian army after seeing its potential damage. The scutum shield was a circular shield that each soldier would engrave their name, cohort, and century on the back, much like the present day “dog tag” that soldiers have today. The Imperial scutum was different than the Republican one, which was rectangular with a boss in the center, made of iron or a bronze alloy. Polybius speaks of different types of breast plates the soldiers would wear, and the three main types
The hastati were used as the second wave of infantry and consisted of wealthier individuals than the velites. Since they could afford better quality weaponry they utilized a bronze helmet, a scutum (large rectangular shield), the famous gladius short sword, and two pilum. Thei...
The first requirement of Aristotle's tragic hero is that they are more admirable than the average character. Achilles meets this requirement because of his ability on the battlefield. In The Iliad, the background to the story is the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. This background is not only the basis for the story overall, but is also the basis for Achilles' own story. This begins when Achilles refuses to join the battle because he is insulted by Agamemnon. This decision results in the action that drives the remainder of the story. Later in the story when Achilles becomes angered and goes to the other extreme, launching into battle and killing ferociously. The significance of this is that it places battle as central to both Achilles' story and to what is important in the setting of the story. Importantly, the aspect that makes Achilles greater than most is his ability o...
The armor that the Vikings wore depended strongly on what they could provide for themselves as protection. Social status was a major factor in the quality of a warrior’s armor. One of the most important pieces of armor the Vikings used was their shield. The most common type of shield used in Viking warfare was a round shield. There were other shields during this time, but the circular shield made it extremely easy for the Vikings to move around. A...
Achilles is introduced into The Iliad getting into a debacle with the leader of the Greek army, Agamemnon, during the last year of the Trojan War. Achilles starts a quarrel with Agamemnon because he has demanded possession of Achilles’ woman, Briseis, in consolation for having to give up his woman, Chryseis, so that the gods will end their plague upon the Greek soldiers. Achilles does all he can to get his loved one back, but he knows that nothing will waver Agamemnon’s decision. This is when Achil...
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